Blockchain Weekly Recap 4-23-2016

Blockchain Weekly Recap 4-23-2016

Accenture Exploring Blockchain Solutions to Fight Drug Counterfeiting

Professional services provider Accenture is reportedly in discussions with the Linux-led HyperLedger Project as it considers possible blockchain solutions that could help to reign in the counterfeit drug market. As the healthcare industry continues to be plagued by a flood of counterfeit pharmaceuticals – most of which are extremely difficult to distinguish from the genuine articles, Accenture is operating under the belief that distributed ledger technology might hold the answer.

The idea involves using the blockchain to create the same type of trusted record it provides for cryptocurrency transactions. Such a system would provide a clear and unalterable record of each drug’s manufacturing origins, which could increase trust in the drug supply line. Given that these counterfeits now amount to roughly $75 billion in revenue each year, it’s no small wonder that so many players in the healthcare industry have already expressed interest in the concept.

Follow My Vote’s current Kickstarter campaign remains considerably short of its $3.2 million funding goal, but hopes to expand on the more than $2,300 it has already raised over the course of the next two month. The company is pursuing the funding in an effort to finance its blockchain-based voting system and create a fraud-free voting platform that can ultimately supplant existing systems that many believe to be antiquated.

University College Dublin Hosts Blockchain Educational Event

University College Dublin recently hosted an educational event it named “Translating the Blockchain.” The event was conducted by the UCD Centre for Innovation, Technology & Organization, and saw an array of security experts, regulators, FinTech industry representatives, and theorists come together to create a dialogue focused on how the blockchain would impact their various industries and fields of expertise. The gathering was an interactive event, with attendees being asked to discuss a number of blockchain-related issues in an effort to increase understanding and collaboration.

Bitfury Group Bringing Blockchain to Georgian Land Title Registry

The Republic of Georgia could provide an ideal testing ground for blockchain technology, as San Francisco’s Birfury Group moves forward in its attempt to utilize distributed ledger technology to better manage that nation’s land title registry. Working in partnership with economist Hernando de Soto’s Institute for Liberty and Democracy, BitFury Group intends to build a blockchain property registry that would offer the transparency, security, and permanence that the nation needs to advance opportunity for everyone in its economy.

Morgan Stanley Report: Banks Have Advantage in Blockchain Battle

According to a new report released by Morgan Stanley, the financial industry’s focus on private blockchains will provide it with fundamental advantages over the public blockchains used by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The new report -“Blockchain in Banking: Disruptive Threat or Tool?” – effectively argues that those public ledgers’ inability to meet regulatory Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering requirements will leave them at a severe disadvantage that will stifle their ability to compete with startups favored by the financial industry.

The report also focuses its attention on use cases, international payments, settlement, data storage, and regulatory concerns. It also agrees with many other experts in its estimate that broader acceptance and implementation of the technology won’t take place for at least another five years.

Author: Ken Chase

Freelance writer whose interests include topics ranging from technology and finance to politics, fitness, and all things canine. Aspiring polymath, semi-professional skeptic, and passionate advocate for the judicious use of the Oxford comma.

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